Shibuya Takeshi Orchestra

Caught live at Shinjuku Pit Inn
December 4, 2001

Even the best bands have an off night. But for the Shibuya Takeshi Orchestra even a slow night is excellent. Perhaps the first day of bitter cold and a sloppy rain slowed the usual exuberance of the orchestra, but even on the ballads the members of the orchestra delivered deconstructed jazz in its own inimitable style. From the first opening blasts of “Great Type” the band got right in to ravaging the conventionally smooth forms of jazz. Shibuya knows when to lay out on keyboards in order for the band members to take over. His solos were very much to the point, off-beat, thought-out and well conceived. The front line sax players Kenta Tsugami, Koichi Matsukage and Hayashi Eichi dig into all and every open space, obviously playing solos that release energy with focused devotion. Osamu Matsumoto on trombone keeps his solos grounded nicely in the undying basics, form, feeling and tone. Akihiro Ishiwatari on guitar, who contributed many of the evening’s compositions, works his way in and around the lead lines, offering slashing counterpoint at times, supporting chording at others, and a distant tug towards the ether at yet others. The rhythm section is funk and punk at the same time, which keeps the rhythm from falling into predictable swing patterns and always with a delightfully disturbing edge. What is most intriguing about Shibuya’s leadership is the way he and the others revel in upsetting all expectations. Billy Strayhorn’s tunes are sad, slow and stately, but with unique, quirky textures. Their Dixieland style number romps with traditional looseness, moving from two-beat to stop-time and quoting from Sweet Georgia Brown and other fast blues, but comes out wonderfully twisted, recapturing the underlying human warmth that emerged from the brothels of New Orleans. Their version of “Cherokee” takes off with an electricity that makes it “re-bop” as much as bebop. Through it all, Shibuya and these uncompromising players play the most ironic, humorous, accomplished music around.